Research lights the way

 Barry Keohane with his final takeaway from Radiodays Europe

Apart from the language barrier, one of the things I battled with in China for three years was the reluctance of radio stations to do any form of audience research. 
 
There were several reasons, the main one being the bean counters saw research as an expense, and not an investment.  A great example of this was when I was planning to launch a station in Guangzhou (population 16+million), and the COO was happy to launch with no research, and therefore no understanding of the Guangzhou market.
 
It took several meetings, but in the end I convinced him to spend the money on a fairly comprehensive market study.  The result was the new station rose from 16th to 5th in the market within the first 2 months showing just how important the right research can be.
 
This is why music and perceptual research has been an important part of Australian radio since the 1980’s, and if you ask any Content Director, it’s one of the most important tools when programming a radio station.
 
One of the headlines to come out of Radiodays Europe last week is that stations and radio companies in Europe are prepared to spend more and more money on research.  They appreciate that the way the audience consumes content is changing faster and faster and it’s important that radio companies stay on top of these changes to ensure radio remains relevant for everyone.
 
There were two pieces of research that stood out during the sessions held in Milan last week.  The first was research conducted by the BBC, and presented by Alison Winter, Head of Research for Radio and Music.  The research that the BBC conducted has helped them keep up with technology, and supports their new strategy – Listen, Watch, Share – which has made BBC1 the most “watched” radio station on YouTube, with over 2 million subscribers.
 
Winter explained how they used a variety of different research sources to help complete the picture. “We had to look at how they accessed the content, what they were doing when they were accessing content, and finally how they were feeling when they accessed content”.
 
Completing the research is one thing, but when you have so much data from different sources, presenting and then analyzing the data can pose it’s own challenge. 
 
“We used a series of heat maps for the data to show where people were active the most, and what sort of content they were accessing.  The red shows when people were the most active”, continues Winter.


 
By looking at what they were using when accessing content, and how they were feeling, it really allowed the BBC to drill down and adjust programming and content accordingly.  They found that:
 

  • More people were accessing content via their mobile devices during the morning
  • 9 to 5 workday content was accessed via a PC
  • On a Monday, people were accessing “catch up” audio (podcasts/replays) more than any other day
  • People were looking for more on-demand audio on Sunday
  • We treat Friday listening different, but the research shows that Monday is also another important day to adjust content, based on mood (people were lacking energy during the daytime)

 
As a Content Director, I know it’s not all about content, but also how this new era of listening can help advertisers.  Judith Spilsbury (pictured top, right) is Head of Customer Training for the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) in the UK. 
 
The goal of the RAB research was to discover whether on-demand streamed music is competing or complementing radio.  The survey involved 1,200 people and measured all forms of audio.  The key findings of this study included:
 

  • Listening to all audio grew by 6%
  • Live radio listening remains stable
  • Use of stream music services has double in the last 12 months
  • Own music listening (CD’s etc) is falling
  • People have a clear understanding of live radio, but unsure of what on-demand means

Spilsbury continued by highlighting 6 need states that audio satisfies:
 
1. Keep me in the loop – life is so hectic, it can be hard to stay informed
2. Help me escape – Life is noisy, pressured and complicated
3. Lift my mood – Sometimes I feel down, so audio can help improve my mood
4. Amplify the moment – We strive for emotional connection
5. Provide social currency – Allows me to engage with my peers on shared content
6. Broaden my horizons
 
With the landscape changing everyday, it’s always nice to go back and remind yourself of the fundamentals of content, and how listeners use radio and on-demand services. 
 
So, what was the finding from RAB?  It seems that live radio and on-demand services complement each other, but radio is still the dominant player when it comes to relevance, reach and timeliness.  And provided that live radio is more than just music, and provides that human touch and a connection to the outside world, it will continue to remain relevant.
 
Maybe it was because I was locked behind the Great Firewall of China for the last 3 years, but these two research studies really hit home the importance of being inside the mind of your audience, so you can ensure your content engages with them on many levels. 
Paul Amos of Xtra Research spoke at Radiodays Europe, and says that research has now become “an ongoing conversation with your community.”   Here are several tips from Paul on research.
 
  Get your fans on the air talking about the difference they made to the station and how great it is to be a member of the community
  Make the people in the survey feel important by putting the spotlight on them, for example, feature fans’ favourite songs in the weekly countdown
  Create a closed Facebook group for the most active members of the community. The conversations that happen there may be difficult for you, but will be very informative.
  Offer them exclusive content such as advance tickets or special visits to the station. It is an extension of your marketing department, not just a research panel.
  Surprise and delight them, for example, with entries into a prize draw without them even having to ask you. Don’t just communicate about surveys, tell them about other interesting things too between asking them to complete a survey.
  Organise a meet and greet
  Put on an exclusive event.

Preparing, conducting and analyzing research studies is one thing, but when was the last time your radio station actually implemented something new based on research?  Some stations always ensured that their Friday programming was a little different leading into the weekend.  However, the BBC research study showed that on a Monday, people were really struggling to get through the workday.  So, they reflected this on-air.
 
Research does not have all the answers, but it does have a lot of them.  I think in this world of changing technology and listening habits, of on-demand versus live radio, of traditional sets versus mobile technology, there is one thing we still have to do…..be brave!

Report written for radioinfo by: Barry Keohane, Content Director and International Radio Consultant @barrykeohane